Japanese consumer sentiment falls the most since quake

Bloomberg

Japan consumer confidence dropped last month, the most since a record earthquake in 2011, showing the challenges Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces in sustaining a recovery in the world’s third-biggest economy.

A sentiment index unexpectedly fell 4.2 points to 41.2, with gauges of views of livelihoods, employment and incomes declining, the Japanese Cabinet Office said yesterday in Tokyo.

A typhoon in the middle of last month around the time the survey was conducted may have lowered the consumer mood.

Abe needs to maintain economic momentum so far driven by fiscal and monetary stimulus ahead of an April increase in the sales tax that he announced on Oct. 1.

Growth is forecast to slow to an annualized 1.7 percent in the third quarter from 3.8 percent in the previous three months, according to a separate Bloomberg survey.